At least 25 killed as bus falls into gorge in north India
New Delhi, Oct 5 (EFE).- At least 25 people were killed and 20 others were injured in India when they bus carrying them plunged around 500-meters down into a gorge, officials said on Wednesday.
“As per the information received so far, 25 people have died in this accident. Twenty people have been rescued and sent to hospitals, out of which some are critical. The search operations are continuing,” tweeted the police of the northern state of Uttarakhand, where the incident took place on Tuesday night.
After the accident, rescue teams soon reached the site where the bus had veered off the road into a 500-meters deep ravine, and were carrying out rescue operations in very difficult circumstances.
Images of the search operations shared by the police on social media showed rescue personnel searching in dense undergrowth for the victims, who were part of a wedding procession.
“The bus accident in Pauri, Uttarakhand is heart-rending. In this tragic hour my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those who have been injured recover at the earliest. Rescue operations are underway. All possible assistance will be provided to those affected,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted after the incident.
Traffic accidents are frequent in India due to poor road conditions, precarious state of some of the vehicles and a general disregard for traffic rules.
One of the worst road accidents in recent years occurred in February last year when 51 people died after a bus crashed into a canal in Madhya Pradesh.
In 2020, 131,714 people died and more than 348,279 injured in some 366,138 car accidents in India, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. EFE
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